BLIND, wheelchair bound and seriously brain damaged, 11-year-old Waseem Alam is trapped in his own body.

His devoted parents Muhammad and Parveen work around the clock to care for their much-loved son.

But today they claimed they are at their wits' end because Birmingham City Council chiefs have failed to finish vitally needed alterations to their Aston home to meet Waseem's needs - almost two years after they were promised them.

Mr Alam, aged 55, struggles to carry his eight-stone son upstairs to use the bathroom, while Mrs Alam, 49, suffered a brain haemorrhage last November, leaving her constantly sick and fatigued.

Today, the council pledged to rectify the situation "as a matter of urgency" after the Birmingham Mail intervened.

Mr Alam, aged 55, said: "I didn't want to have to come to a newspaper to sort this out, but we are so desperate we don't know where else to turn. We're at breaking point."

Mr Alam said the problems began when the family was moved from a maisonette into a council-owned semi-detached in Beales Street in October 2005.

"We had an occupational therapist detail the adaptations that the house needed," explained Mr Alam, also father to Najeeb, 21, a trainee doctor, and Farhana, 19, who is studying biological sciences at Oxford University.

"Because Waseem is big and heavy for his age and I have a knee injury through lifting him, we needed a stair lift to get him upstairs, as well as a downstairs bathroom next to his bedroom," added Mr Alam.

A year after moving into their home, building work finally started. But just a month later it abruptly came to an end.

"I found that one of our energy saving lightbulbs had been stolen and I believed one of the builders took it," claimed Mr Alam, who reported the incident to council chiefs and the police. "I know it was only a lightbulb, but it was the principle of it. "

Despite requests for new council contractors to continue the work, nothing has been done at the Alams' home since last October.

"We are living in a building site," said Mr Alam. I'm struggling to cope."

A council spokeswoman said today: "We are very keen to ensure the necessary adaptations are carried out as a matter of urgency to meet the family's needs.

"We have made a number of attempts to complete the necessary works and will continue to liaise with Mr Alam to try and address any concerns."